Poésie de mots inconnus

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Poésie de mots inconnus

Publisher Le degré quarante et un, Paris, 1949 (Iliazd)

Printer etchings: Roger Lacourière (Guy Aner and Georges Chertuite, pressmen), 1 April to 6 May 1949; etching by Chagall: Paul Haasen (É

Author Iliazd (Ilia Zdanevitch) (Russian, 1894-1975)

Date1949

DimensionsEnvelope: H: 7 3/16 in. (182 mm); W: 5 11/16 in. (145 mm); Depth: 2 7/16 in. (62 mm).
Book: H: 6 7/8 in. (175 mm); W: 5 7/16 in. (138 mm); Depth: 2 5/16 in. (59 mm).
Page (untrimmed): H: 6 5/16 in. (160 mm); W: 5 1/16 in. (128 mm).
Sheet (untrimmed): H: 12 3/8 in. (315 mm); W: 9 3/4 in. (248 mm).

MediumOriginal prints: 6 etchings (Villon, Laruens, Masson, Chagall, Giacometti, Gleizes), 3 drypoints (Metzinger, Wols, Bryen), 2 aquatints (Magnelli), 6 lithographs (Braque, Léger, Férat, Miró, Picasso), 7 woodcuts (Arp, Arp and Bryen, Arp and Tauber-Arp, Schwitters, Survage, Tytgat), 2 engravings (Dominquez, Picasso), 1 linoleum cut (Matisse), in black and in color Reproduction: line block reproduction of drawing (Ribemont-Dessaignes, front cover). Text: letterpress in black and red (typeface: Gill Sans Bold capitals). Paper: Isle de France ivory wove paper.

ClassificationBooks

Credit LineGift of Molly and Walter Bareiss

Object number

1984.962

Not on View

Label TextPoems by Ronke Akimsemoyin, Pierre Albert-Birot, JeanArp, Audiberti, Hugo Ball, Nicolas Beauduin, Camille Bryan, Paul Dermee, Raoul Hausmann, Vincent Huidobro, Iliazd, Eugene Jolas, Velemir Khlebnikov, Alexis krutchonykh, Pablo Picasso, Boris Poplavsky, Kurt Schwitters, Michel Seuphor, Igor Terentiev, and TristanTzara. Book designed by Iliazd. In order to read the book, Iliazd's book design requires the reader to unfold and refold the uncut quarto pages. Cover designed by Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes with the words "Ne coupez pas mes pages" (acaveat to the reader not to cut the pages). This publication was produced for the thirtieth anniversary of the birth of Dada in Zurich. This book was produced for the 30th anniversary of the birth Dada in Zurich. It also included 25 prints by Arp, Sophie Tauber-Arp, Braque, Bryen, Chagall, Dominguez, Ferat, Giacometti, Gleizes, Laurens, Leger, Magnelli, Mason, Matisse, Metzinger, Miro, Picasso, Schwitters, Survage, Tytgat, Villon, and Wols. Iliazd (llia Zdanevitch, a Russian-born Parisian émigré, who was also poet, author, playwright, publisher and champion of anvant-garde ideas designed this book. Iliazd had originally founded "Le Degree 41" ("The 41st Degree", referring to the latitude of his home town) in 1919 to publish the writings of Russian futurist poets. Once in Paris in the 1920s and 1930s, Iliazd associated with Dada and Surrealist writers and artists. Picasso's engraving accompanies the three "Poems a crier et a danser" by Pierre Albert-Birot. One lithograph is autographic text of Picasso's poems; the other is of imaginary writing and it accompanies the publication’s "acheve d'imprimer" text. Poetry of Unknown Words was one of the first books published by Russian artist, author, and publisher Ilia Zdanevitch (known as Iliazd) after he moved to Paris in 1921. It was one of the first anthologies of 20th-century visual poetry and included 21 poets with prints by 23 artists. Represented, in particular, were the major contributors to Russian and Italian Futurism, German Dada, Surrealism, and other avant-garde movements. Though unbound, the pages are created by folding sheets of paper in quarters, as is traditional in bookbinding. But Iliazd confounds the reader by printing the sheets in only one direction. They are impossible to read without being removed from the book, sheet by sheet, and unfolded. Displayed here is a page with a woodcut jointly created by French artists Jean Arp (1866–1966) and Camille Bryen (1907–1977), illustrating two poems by Arp. Poésie de mots inconnus (Poetry of Unknown Words). Designed and edited by Iliazd, (1949) When Russian-born artist, author, and publisher Ilia Zdanevitch (known simply as Iliazd) moved to France, one of his first publications was Poésie de mots inconnus. It was one of the first anthologies of 20th-century visual poetry and included 21 poets with 23 artists. Represented, in particular, were the major contributors to Russian and Italian Futurism, German Dada, and other avantgarde movements. Iliazd published the book to dispute some French poets of the 1940s who claimed to have invented the idea of visually placing a poem on a page. In Poésie de mots inconnus, each page has a different composition and uses a different typeface. The pages are created by folding sheets of paper in two, as is traditional in bookbinding. But Iliazd confounds the reader by printing the sheets in only one direction. Once folded, they are impossible to read without being removed from the book, page by page, and opened by each reader. The book was first printed with the text, not the art as is more common. The poems were laid out on each page by Iliazd. Then, each artist was asked to create his or her work within this composition. A few artists rebelled and sent their own visual poetry, which accounts for the uneven number of participants.Published Referencescf. Garvey, Eleanor M., The Artist & the Book, 1860--1960, Boston, 1961, no. 305.

cf. Isselbacher, Audrey, Iliazd and the IIlustrated Book, New York, c1987, no.30.

cf. Goeppert, Sebastian, et al., Pablo Picasso: The Illustrated Books, Catalogue raisonné, Geneva, 1983, no. 54.

cf. Castleman, Riva, A Century of Artists' Books, New York, 1994, p. 98.

Exhibition History

Toledo Museum of Art, Picasso as an Illustrator, 1988, no. 27

Toledo Museum of Art, The Bareiss Collection of Illustrated Books from Toulouse-Lautrec to Kiefer, 1985, no. 86.

New York, N.Y., Museum of Modern Art, A Century of Artist Books,1994-95.

Toledo Museum of Art, Splendid Pages: The Molly and Walter Bareiss Collection of Modern Illustrated Books, Feb. 14--May 11, 2003

Toledo Museum of Art, Looks Good on Paper: Masterworks and Favorites, Oct. 10, 2014-Jan. 11, 2015.